Hello from St. Paul, Today is our last day in committee, as we are marking the 3rd and final deadline of when bills can be heard and moved forward. From here, we will be spending the rest of our time on the House floor, dealing with budget bills that reflect...
Hello from the State Capitol, Last week, Owatonna was the site of this year’s State of the State address. Specifically, the event was held at the new Owatonna High School. It was nice to see this facility as the centerpiece of the education discussion and all...
Hello from the State Capitol, Our House committees have been hard at work this week, trying to hear bills before the legislative deadline. In the legislature, there are three deadlines. The first is for committees to act favorably on bills in the house of...
Last session, legislative Democrats were a bit sloppy in their crafting of the omnibus taxes bill, and approved it with numerous errors. For example, a provision was approved that reduced standard income tax deductions, which would have forced roughly 76% of...
Hello from St. Paul, Some good news and some disturbing news to report from the Capitol this week. SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS FIX APPROVEDFirst the good: the Minnesota House of Representatives approved a bill to improve school safety after a change in law last...
Hello from St. Paul, This week, news from the Capitol was rightfully overshadowed by a sad event in Burnsville, as the funeral of two law enforcement officers and a paramedic who were killed in the line of duty took place. When you witness something like this,...
As I begin my last session in St Paul, I have lots of thoughts and memories going through my head. The atmosphere and working relationships have certainly changed since I first took my oath of office in January 2013. But the desire to govern in the way each of...
When is a surplus not a surplus? When the total amount of projected windfall in one budget cycle is wiped out by the projected deficit in the next budget cycle. On December 6, our state’s economic experts unveiled the latest state budget projections. Nearly...
I wanted to provide an update today on a column I submitted last month concerning school resources officers (SROs) and their departures from many schools across Minnesota. You may recall legislative Democrats passed a bill Governor Walz signed into law that...
Hello from St. Paul, On September 8, disturbing video from Mankato showed a high school student getting beaten by two others. This high school was later placed on lockdown that day and police were called. This high school normally would have a school resources...